The video content issue continues to escalate in more markets than can be counted. The industry can point to a few victorious battles, but what outcome should we expect for the entire war? Realistically, I'm afraid I wouldn't put much money on our side to curb the politicians' focus on violent content in coin-op games. We're an easy target, as has been discussed here before. We're also an industry of very little self-control, historically.
I read a great article by an industry member recently that told it like it is. Like it or not, it's over. Face it. It's time to move on. That may be a little strong for me, but not by much. Our industry needs to build a better mousetrap. This industry in its history has always met the challenge. That's our secret to survival. Otherwise the first home video games in 1982 would have doomed us. They didn't.
I've had this conversation with other industry members, and I know what response to expect from defenders of today's games. I agree that factually we're the wrong targets. But politically, we're a wonderful target with a big, round bull's-eye painted right on our backs. Compared to our counterparts in the movie industry, and the consumer divisions of the video game manufacturers, the coin-op industry doesn't have adequate funding to change the direction of the rapidly building snowball. I believe us to be the proverbial scapegoat.
The other objection that industry members frequently voice is to say, "If there is too much youth violence, the real cause is not our games - it is the degenerating American family." Of course I absolutely agree with that, too. The trouble is, there is no quick legislative fix for that problem (how are you going to legislate that a family sits down and has dinner together nightly at 6:00PM?). So once again, passing more regulations against our industry appeals to the political class as an (apparent) quick fix.
Long term, we do control our own destiny, if - and it's a big "if" - if we can harness our energies and redirect them toward new and innovative forms of entertainment coin-op products. Right now, however, the operator is not providing any incentive for factories to go this route. Following the laws of supply and demand, the manufacturers will simply continue to build what we operators buy. Look at the charts: the violent games are at the top of earnings. Why would makers of such products do anything different, but to keep producing these "popular" games? I will have more to say about this below.
Short term, within the industry, our hope is to police ourselves and to exert peer pressure on our industry members to prompt them to comply voluntary with the Parental Advisory System (PAS). This is the thinking behind AMOA's PACT pledge (Parental Advisory System Compliance Team), which is being disseminated for association members to sign. Only by industry leaders stepping up and being responsible industry members will the industry be healthy in the long term. The AMOA PACT in short states that:
· All games will be properly labeled and locations will be properly signed with PAS information;
· Your employees and customers will be well-versed in the proper application of the PAS;
· You will encourage parents to understand the System and accompany their children in game playing decisions.
Any legitimate industry member should eagerly sign this pledge. But that's not all...it's my opinion that we should go much farther, to include (this is Randy, not AMOA, talking):
· In the future we are not purchasing the most violent, red-labeled games for our locations.
· We are phasing our existing violent games from our inventory in an expeditious fashion.
· For our existing inventory of red-labeled games, we are making a concentrated effort to place these machines in highly visible, monitored areas. We are being socially conscious for all placements of these games.
Again, I believe operators must address this question on the "demand" side of the equation. The manufacturing segment of our industry will always keep the demand pipeline full. If we buy it, they'll continue to make it. If we don't buy it, the manufacturing segment will find a way to fill the pipeline with something that sells. I'm sure that this isn't a novel concept to leading manufacturers who see the writing on the wall. I know that there are many industry research and development departments fast at work developing new, innovative technologies. We've seen some of them at the shows. We need more.
With all that is going on in the industry I was amused (read "embarrassed") to see a leading manufacturer's latest offering at IAAPA. Now the most violent games not only give us a chance to shoot human characters, but we now have the technology for the video game humans to shoot back at us. IS ANYBODY HOME? If we buy it, they'll continue to build it. My case strengthens.
An industry member whom I respect suggested that maybe I wouldn't take such a profit-compromising position against the most violent-rated games, if I were still running a small Kansas-based operating company that was fighting for survival. I thought about that. Our company doesn't purchase these violent video games. Our target market customer doesn't require us to, and that's not an accident. The moral reasoning is that we've chosen on a go-forward basis not to be in the violent video game business. The financial reasoning is that we don't want a warehouse full of gun games, should legislation go against our industry.
I don't know if the "go another direction" strategy is mainstream thinking or not. I do know many operators want to stand their ground and fight each battle over this issue, while other reputable operators want to promote alternative legislation in a pro-active move. All are very smart minds with a lot at stake.
And yes, the stakes are indeed high. One trade member recently had a sobering moment of realization when he asked himself this stark question: if you remove the violent games and video pokers from this industry, what do you have left? How do you pay the bills? It's not pretty out there for a large contingent of our industry members. One of the most respected distributors in the industry is fighting for survival as this column goes to press. I talked to another distributor in the industry who said that there are new poker operators every day. Those who, in the past, had vowed to stay away from video poker have now turned to it as a matter of survival. I can't cast a stone, as I possibly could have been forced down the same path.
Take a close look at the AMOA PACT. To sign on and support the industry's
efforts contact the AMOA office at 800/YES-AMOA (which is 800/937-2662).
Take it a step further and let your distributors and violent video game
manufacturers know that they need to be going a different direction, if
they want to continue to count on you as a customer.